Guest post: Making assumptions, or a colour theory smackdown - A Preview

This is a preview for a series of posts about colour theory. I haven't studied colour theory, aside from doing my roommate's art school homework for her in years gone by. However, I have recently been humbled at the foot of the colour theory throne, and this humbling has resulted in new insight.

It is not a theory, friends. It is the truth. My approach of 'if I like everything that goes in, what comes out will work out' is not robust in the face of quilting's rules and realities.

The above is a (very satisfying) salvage effort! Two quilts were born from the grand schemes I had for a large quilt modelled after this one.

I would write more, but I can't stop watching this:

26 minutes well spent, friends.

Guest post: Making excuses

Friends, I have not spent the past month or so lying around. I have been scheming and making lists, and cutting things out, and experimenting with interfacing, and knitting myself a sweater. What I have NOT been doing is posting about it!

Marc took this picture on our trip down the west coast of the US in May. This is a seal on Cannon Beach: not dead, as we had suspected. Just sleeping. I thought it might be appropriate for this post.

I would like to keep posting here, and Erin has encouraged me to do so. Now I just have to get a few thoughts down in a form that you will enjoy reading, instead of keeping them all in a big cloud hovering over my head with all of my other crafty thoughts. My holiday gift-giving ambitions are considerable this year...I just have to take some steps to bring these ambitions 'into the real' as it were.

So stay tuned for next time, when we talk all about it!

Making tentative plans

While I haven't been producing much lately, I HAVE been making tentative plans to make things. Marshmallows, to be exact.

First, Emily at Inside a Black Apple featured these in a cup of hot chocolate. They look unbelievable.

Then, I found the smores pictured above at my local grocery store. The smores were tasty (and pretty), but they inspired me to make my own marshmallow treats, more than anything else.

Side note: I've had plans to check out Butter Baked Goods since Lydia at I ate the Lotus told me about it, but I never make my way over to Dunbar when I'm in Vancouver. I lived on Dunbar in 1999, and I didn't think it was so far away from everything. It's far away from everything.

Anyway, I've checked out plenty of marshmallow recipes, including the Martha Stewart recipe that Emily used, but I have yet to find a gelatin-free recipe. Is gelatin really that magical?

Eating a macaron in Paris

I forgot to tell you that I fulfilled my tentative plan. Mulptiple times! I also got my parents hooked on macarons (they were in Paris after the Ireland wedding). Success!


That Pierre Hermé macaron was the best one of all. It is a vanilla "cookie" with pistachio and cherry filling. It was so good it made me sick.

The top picture features a macaron from Ladurée. I became quite familiar with these little darlings because Michael bought two boxes for his coworkers before we found out that our flight was cancelled. I couldn't let them go to waste. You understand.

Lists

This is where I use my blog to record some lists of things that Michael and I don't want to forget about our holiday. It seemed like a natural place to put them.

Top culinary experiences:

• Cappuccinos and croissants (fresh from the oven) in Porlezza
• Gelati in Italy, but especially the fondente and meringa gelati in Bellagio
• Meat plate with Holly and Corrado in Menaggio (see photo in previous post)
• Cheese plate and carpaccio at Open Bar in Florence (see photo in previous post)
• Pizza from Bella 'Mbriana in Lucca
• Fig granita from Il Pirate Cafe in Vernazza (see photo in previous post)
• Falafel from Mi-va-mi in Paris (with egg plant!) (thanks Sarah M)

Top revelations:

• Jet lag sucks
• Hipsters are global
• We like the beach
• The mayor of Paris is awesome
• We are fond of Italian dining rituals
• Michael looks Irish
• Public displays of affection are very common in Italy
• European women are that sophisticated
• The Eiffel Tower is cool

Top overall moments:

• Playing board games in Portrush
• Ringing the bell in Porlezza
• Discovering Siena
• Seeing David in Florence
• Biking in Lucca
• Getting to and swimming at the nude beach near Corniglia
• Lounging at the Alassio beach
• Exploring the Marais
• Riding a Segway

Things that worked out:

• Booking.com (all of our hotels were amazing)
• Rick Steves (we used this guide book in Italy, and I LOVED it)
• Back packs instead of rolling suit cases
• GPS for driving in Northern Ireland
• Small camera (easy to carry in your pocket)
• Easy reading (I chose The Golden Compass and Watership Down)
• Audio books on my iPod
• Putting thought into wardrobe (we weren't fashionable Europeans, but we were prepared for rain and sun)
• Cydwoq shoes (my feet were happy!)
• Booking museums in advance (we snubbed the lines in Florence and Paris)
• Learning about some history before the trip (Michael taught me about the Renaissance)
• Securing Jen as a house sitter (we didn't get evicted when our rent cheque bounced)

Things we would do differently next time:

• Bring a big memory card for the camera (instead of a second camera)
• Throw some modern art into the mix
• Bring a hand-held Internet device
• Stay for a minimum of three nights in each destination
• Fly with an established airline
• Eat before famished
• Sort out bank accounts before travel

This is why people go to Italy